Thousands of tiny tots will enter the world of learning when they make their way to new classrooms in schools across the district on Monday. Schools will hold ‘praveshanolsavam’ programmes to welcome children to the new academic year.
According to rough estimates, about 16,000 children are expected to begin Class I this year. “We will have exact data after six days of school reopening,” said Shinemon M.K., Deputy Director of Education.
The district-level ‘praveshanolsavam’ programme will be conducted at the Government Lower Primary School, Valaynchirangara, at 10 a.m. This year, the school will welcome its 100 batch of Class I students on Monday. About 86 students have already enrolled in Class I at the century-old school. “The school was established in 1915 by V.M. Kesava Pillai, who was a social activist from here. We still have two of the original buildings and have maintained them well,” said Raji C., school headmistress.
Ms. Raji said a special procession would be taken out from the nearby V.M. Kesava Pillai memorial library. Children in colourful costumes and cultural performances will be part of the festivities at the school. With help from sponsors, the school has also arranged for slates, crayons and pencils to be given to the new students. Similar processions and programmes are expected to take place across the district.
Dampening the spirit of the reopening is the threat of having to shut down schools due to low enrolment. District education officials said they hoped for good enrolment this year. Meanwhile, uniforms have also not been made available the second time running this year. Some schools have taken the initiative with parent-teacher associations to make uniforms available free of cost on their own to needy children. In most schools, however, parents have been left to find their own means to get the uniforms. Principals of many city schools said that they had received textbooks for most classes. “There is a shortage of books for some of the classes. We hope that this will be rectified soon,” said a Principal.
